Jekyll2018-10-13T21:54:02+00:00https://daltonbr.github.io/Dalton Lima - Unity Game ProgrammerMy PortfolioDalton Limadaltonvarussa@gmail.comVacations and Studies2019-09-07T00:00:00+00:002019-09-07T00:00:00+00:00https://daltonbr.github.io/blog/vacations<p>Today, September 7th was an awesome day, it is was my birthday, also it was the Brazil Independence day, a national holiday and on top of that, I am starting a well deserved 30 days of vacation!</p>
<p>I am very excited to use this time to go deeper into a lot of projects and courses with my full attention!
There is so much to cover, French studies, Unity, Unreal, Android &amp; iOS dev, Augmented Reality with Hololens, and many other areas; maybe I should rethink some priorities.
Let’s not forget about exercises, which is something that I admittedly need to give more attention.
Let’s see how it goes!</p>
<figure class="third ">
<a href="https://daltonbr.github.io/assets/images/posts/2018-09-07/jog1.JPG">
<img src="https://daltonbr.github.io/assets/images/posts/2018-09-07/jog1.JPG" alt="jog1" />
</a>
<a href="https://daltonbr.github.io/assets/images/posts/2018-09-07/jog2.JPG">
<img src="https://daltonbr.github.io/assets/images/posts/2018-09-07/jog2.JPG" alt="jog2" />
</a>
<a href="https://daltonbr.github.io/assets/images/posts/2018-09-07/jog3.JPG">
<img src="https://daltonbr.github.io/assets/images/posts/2018-09-07/jog3.JPG" alt="jog3" />
</a>
<a href="https://daltonbr.github.io/assets/images/posts/2018-09-07/jog4.JPG">
<img src="https://daltonbr.github.io/assets/images/posts/2018-09-07/jog4.JPG" alt="jog4" />
</a>
<a href="https://daltonbr.github.io/assets/images/posts/2018-09-07/jog5.JPG">
<img src="https://daltonbr.github.io/assets/images/posts/2018-09-07/jog5.JPG" alt="jog5" />
</a>
<figcaption><em>Joging this morning with Leia and Pepper</em>
</figcaption>
</figure>Dalton Limadaltonvarussa@gmail.comToday, September 7th was an awesome day, it is was my birthday, also it was the Brazil Independence day, a national holiday and on top of that, I am starting a well deserved 30 days of vacation!Stage Cleared2018-08-17T00:00:00+00:002018-08-17T00:00:00+00:00https://daltonbr.github.io/blog/stage-cleared<p>After a while, it’s time to make another blog entry! There are a lot of things going on lately!</p>
<p>In the academic world, I have recently <strong>completed my bachelor’s in Computer Science!</strong> Yay! It was a big achievement for my career,I learned a bunch and meet amazing new people! It wasn’t easy to work full time and take classes at night, even on Saturdays, but it was very rewarding! I am so excited to finally move on to new challenges!</p>
<p>Now with that degree out of the way, I am much more enthusiastic about having lots of spare time to dedicate even more to game development and personal studies.</p>
<p>In these last 40 days, I dive into a lot of different courses on <a href="www.linkedin.com/learning">LinkedIn Learning</a> (an amazing platform, that was merged with <a href="www.lynda.com">Lynda.com</a> ). I recommend it to everyone! You get LinkedIn Learning as part of the LinkedIn Premium (there is a free month trial), right now my wishlist has exactly 100 courses, grouped by themes like <em>Unity</em>, <em>Unreal</em>, <em>Career and soft skills</em>, <em>C#</em>, <em>C++</em>, <em>Arts</em>, and (the best one) <em>Maybe Someday</em>. A great perk is that you can download the videos to watch them offline on your tablet/mobile.</p>
<p><img src="https://daltonbr.github.io/assets/images/posts/2018-08-17/CoursesLinkedinLearning.PNG" alt="LinkedIn Learning Courses" />
<em>I am even digging into the artistic side of game development</em></p>
<p>Until now, I have concluded fourteen courses in there, some of the topics covered are Scrum, Time management, Unity, Networking in Games, AR/VR Development, 3D Modeling using Maya, and lots of other ones about career and soft skills.</p>
<p>Quick Duolingo update: I come back to test the new “Crow System”, currently I sit in a <strong>47 days streak with 138 Crows!</strong> There was a great content update in the French course (for English speakers) and I am enjoying it. The Duolingo Stories is another great addition, which I’ll leave for another post when I finish all of them!</p>
<p><img src="https://daltonbr.github.io/assets/images/posts/2018-08-17/VeraDuolingo.PNG" alt="DuolingoPoints" />
<em>My mother keeps pounding me hard in there!</em></p>
<p>One more quick achievement: Now I have my <strong>own .com domain.</strong> <a href="daltonlima.com">daltonlima.com</a>.<br />
It was about time!</p>
<p>Until next time!</p>Dalton Limadaltonvarussa@gmail.comAfter a while, it’s time to make another blog entry! There are a lot of things going on lately!Code Challenge Complete2018-02-28T00:00:00+00:002018-02-28T00:00:00+00:00https://daltonbr.github.io/blog/code-challenge-complete<p>Today I finished the <strong>#30daysofcode</strong> challenge from <a href="https://www.hackerrank.com">HackerRank.com</a>. This is a site focused on competitive programming.</p>
<p><img src="https://daltonbr.github.io/assets/images/posts/2018-02-28-30DaysOfCode.png" alt="Badge" />
<em>An awesome badge to brag!</em></p>
<p><a href="https://www.hackerrank.com/domains/tutorials/30-days-of-code">The challenge</a> was not difficult, and it’s tailored for a beginner programmer. Nonetheless, I had such a great time and challenge, recapping some basic concepts, like Data Structures, Generics, and Templates. On top of that, I remove some rust from my C++ abilities, (which now I am diving much deeper - since this is THE most used language in the gaming industry, among other important things).</p>
<p>Another great thing that comes out of this experience was <em>the creation of this new habit</em> of coding problems regularly.
Taking a few minutes every day to make you better at something just requires discipline and persistence. Just like some of my <a href="https://daltonbr.github.io/blog/learning-french/">previous experiences learning French</a> at <a href="https://www.duolingo.com/DaltonLima">Duolingo</a>.</p>
<p><img src="https://daltonbr.github.io/assets/images/posts/2018-02-28-Badges.png" alt="Badge" />
<em>Some of my current badges!</em></p>
<p>Along with this challenge, I started some other “tracks” inside HackerRank. There are several others awesome topics in there to focus on particular key areas or languages, like Python, AI, SQL, Algorithms, and so on. This could be a good way to help you keep on track and motivated when learning something new.</p>
<p><img src="https://daltonbr.github.io/assets/images/posts/2018-02-28-Tracks.png" alt="Badge" />
<em>The current tracks available!</em></p>
<p>Last, but not less important (and fun) are the contests itself, where you solve problems and compete against others (in fact is against yourself). I have to say that I get really stuck with some problems, and some I have to give up! Well, at least I get my feet wet! I will be definitely looking to participate more in other contests!</p>
<p>This was definitely a good experience that I recommend to every programmer (beginner or expert) to try it a least for 30 days.
I would love to hear and discuss your experience on this matter!</p>
<p>Cheers!</p>Dalton Limadaltonvarussa@gmail.comToday I finished the #30daysofcode challenge from HackerRank.com. This is a site focused on competitive programming.30 Days of Code2018-01-30T00:00:00+00:002018-01-30T00:00:00+00:00https://daltonbr.github.io/blog/30-days-of-code<p>In my last blog entry, I told more about my <a href="https://daltonbr.github.io/blog/learning-french/">awesome experience</a> in Duolingo learning French. (and English too).
Since there, I have lost my streak at 143 days. A nice personal achievement!
Looking back, it was a lot of French and many other lost streaks. I am amazed by how far my French becomes better. Now I can read and listen French easily. Read news, podcasts and other media.</p>
<p>For the future, I am making a transition away from Duolingo and using that time in the “real-world”. One great option is the <a href="http://ici.radio-canada.ca/">Ici Radio Canada</a> (a famous Canada national public radio and tv broadcaster). They have lots of good shows, and definitely is a good place to keep improving your French, and as a bonus, the Canadian accent. Enough with the French learning!</p>
<p>Going to the main topic of this post, I’ve decided to put myself into another challenge.
This would be an easy one at first. It’s called 30 Days of Code.
To put this into context, recently I read the outstanding <a href="https://research.hackerrank.com/developer-skills/2018/">2018 Developer Skills Report</a> from <a href="https://www.hackerrank.com">HackerRank</a>. If you are a programmer like me, this is a quick and interesting report that subtly reveals many important transformations that are happening in the world right now.</p>
<p>One question that stood out to me was:</p>
<p><strong>Which core competencies do employers look for?</strong></p>
<p>Impressively (or not) <strong>94.9%</strong> of the employers answered <strong>Problem-Solving Skills</strong>. Well above of the <strong>56.6%</strong> that said <strong>Programming language proficiency</strong> (second position) or the <strong>Debugging skills</strong> with <strong>47.1%</strong> (third position).</p>
<p>I can’t agree more with the employers on this question. <strong>Problem-Solving</strong> is one of the best skill to have these days. Besides that, is just rewarding when you can find a way (or ways) to solve a puzzle. I like to consider myself an <strong>agnostic programmer</strong> (besides working daily only with a few languages).</p>
<p>In the past few years, I’ve been <a href="https://github.com/daltonbr/uri">solving some Computer Problems</a> from a few other awesome places like <a href="https://www.urionlinejudge.com.br">UriOnline</a> or <a href="https://www.topcoder.com">TopCoder</a>. This challenge could be an opportunity to reinforce that!</p>
<p>Besides being an apparently easy challenge to non-beginner programmers, this <a href="https://www.hackerrank.com/domains/tutorials/30-days-of-code">30 Days of Code</a> challenge from HackerRank seems to be a good way to force myself to work on concepts like Data Structures or to practice a language that I don’t use every day, since HackerRank supports lots of languages. So if you are an experienced programmer, this could be a nice way to put your knowledge to a test.</p>
<p>For today, I’ve just started with a Day-0 (Hello World) challenge. I will make another post when I finish the 30 days! From what I have seen this could be a good starting point for beginners programmers alike.</p>
<p>Happy Coding!</p>Dalton Limadaltonvarussa@gmail.comIn my last blog entry, I told more about my awesome experience in Duolingo learning French. (and English too). Since there, I have lost my streak at 143 days. A nice personal achievement! Looking back, it was a lot of French and many other lost streaks. I am amazed by how far my French becomes better. Now I can read and listen French easily. Read news, podcasts and other media. For the future, I am making a transition away from Duolingo and using that time in the “real-world”. One great option is the Ici Radio Canada (a famous Canada national public radio and tv broadcaster). They have lots of good shows, and definitely is a good place to keep improving your French, and as a bonus, the Canadian accent. Enough with the French learning! Going to the main topic of this post, I’ve decided to put myself into another challenge. This would be an easy one at first. It’s called 30 Days of Code. To put this into context, recently I read the outstanding 2018 Developer Skills Report from HackerRank. If you are a programmer like me, this is a quick and interesting report that subtly reveals many important transformations that are happening in the world right now. One question that stood out to me was: Which core competencies do employers look for? Impressively (or not) 94.9% of the employers answered Problem-Solving Skills. Well above of the 56.6% that said Programming language proficiency (second position) or the Debugging skills with 47.1% (third position). I can’t agree more with the employers on this question. Problem-Solving is one of the best skill to have these days. Besides that, is just rewarding when you can find a way (or ways) to solve a puzzle. I like to consider myself an agnostic programmer (besides working daily only with a few languages). In the past few years, I’ve been solving some Computer Problems from a few other awesome places like UriOnline or TopCoder. This challenge could be an opportunity to reinforce that! Besides being an apparently easy challenge to non-beginner programmers, this 30 Days of Code challenge from HackerRank seems to be a good way to force myself to work on concepts like Data Structures or to practice a language that I don’t use every day, since HackerRank supports lots of languages. So if you are an experienced programmer, this could be a nice way to put your knowledge to a test. For today, I’ve just started with a Day-0 (Hello World) challenge. I will make another post when I finish the 30 days! From what I have seen this could be a good starting point for beginners programmers alike. Happy Coding!Learning French Duolingo2017-11-18T00:00:00+00:002017-11-18T00:00:00+00:00https://daltonbr.github.io/blog/learning-french<p>Today is a very special day for me! I’ve got an achievement from <a href="https://www.duolingo.com/DaltonLima">Duolingo</a>, a streak of <strong>100 days</strong>, and reached level 23 on the same day! (Levels are caped in 25)</p>
<p>Since last year, I decided to become fluent in <strong>French</strong> and also improve my written English.</p>
<p>A quick background: I speak native Portuguese from Brazil, so when I started in Duolingo, I chose to study <strong>“English-French”</strong>. That showed to be a nice strategy, a lot of times I had more English mistakes than French ones (I consider myself fluent in English, but my French was “zero” at the time).</p>
<p>Initially, It was hard to keep a simple week-long streak. So after a while, I made up my mind, put some goals in a spreadsheet, and finish the entire French Tree.</p>
<p><img src="https://daltonbr.github.io/assets/images/posts/060917FrenchDuolingoTrophy.jpg" alt="FrenchTree" /><br />
<em>French Tree finished on September 6th, 2017</em></p>
<p>What now?! Finishing a tree was only the first step in this long journey!
Now I had to <strong>keep all tree golden</strong>! (Until who knows when…)
My streaks were getting bigger and bigger, I reached <strong>93 days in a row</strong>, then I <strong>failed</strong>. I was a little upset that day (it was a rough day), nonetheless, in the next day I started all over again, from the scratch! So here we are today! - Stronger and bragging about my new achievement! Let’s see if I can make it to 200!</p>
<p><img src="https://daltonbr.github.io/assets/images/posts/111817duolingo100.jpg" alt="100Days" /><br />
<em>100 days streak - November 18th, 2017</em></p>
<p>ps.: I am not a superstitious guy, I know that these numbers don’t necessarily mean much. Nevertheless, I learn much about <strong>self-discipline</strong> in this process, and today my French is awesome. I am already keeping up with spoken French and reading very well. That is what matters most to me! Still, there are lots to learn! Now I am slowly changing to other ways of studying.</p>
<p><strong>Some tips that I can share with you:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Put <strong>alarms</strong> to remember you (after a while you won’t need it anymore).</li>
<li>Make a <strong>schedule</strong> (in a <strong>spreadsheet</strong>) of how many <del>badges</del> crows in a day you will complete, so you can <strong>know when you will finish your tree</strong>.</li>
<li>Do your studies <strong>first thing in the morning</strong>. If you can do more, better yet, it’s good to get this out of the way.</li>
<li>Make Duolingo on a <strong>computer</strong>, with a <strong>keyboard</strong>, in the mobile isn’t the same experience. <strong>Auto-completion</strong> hurts your learning. (Disable it on PC)</li>
<li><em>Geek bonus tip</em>: Learn first how to <strong>typewriting accordingly</strong>. I recommend <a href="www.typingclub.com">TypingClub</a> - 15 days/15 minutes are enough (as a ‘computer-guy’, this was a perfect decision for me, now I am blazing fast in all my other daily activities).</li>
</ul>
<p><em>À la prochaine fois!</em><br />
Dalton</p>Dalton Limadaltonvarussa@gmail.comToday is a very special day for me! I’ve got an achievement from Duolingo, a streak of 100 days, and reached level 23 on the same day! (Levels are caped in 25)Hello Jekyll World2017-11-12T00:00:00+00:002017-11-12T00:00:00+00:00https://daltonbr.github.io/blog/hello-world<p>Welcome! This is my first blog post!</p>
<p>My name is <strong>Dalton</strong>, I am a <strong>Game Programmer</strong> from Brazil. Currently, I am concluding my BSc. in <strong>Computer Science</strong>, here at Sao Paulo State University - UNESP. I am in the penultimate term (expected June-2018).</p>
<p>Lately, I’ve been thinking that could be nice to have a place to put my thoughts and challenges. So, why not use a blog?</p>
<p>Since I am not a web developer, I want to try something simple. So I heard that we can <a href="https://pages.github.com/">host a webpage on GitHub</a>. Along with that, we can also use <a href="jekyllrb.com">Jekyll</a> (a simple, blog-aware, static site generator), and in it, we can do some refinements, like using themes.</p>
<p>The basic idea is that you write your blog posts in basic markup files, like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Markdown">Markdown</a>, leaving you free to focus on your writing.</p>
<p>If you are a programmer and don’t know what Markdown is, or how to use it, go learn it right away. <a href="https://github.com/adam-p/markdown-here/wiki/Markdown-Cheatsheet">This cheat-sheet will surely help</a>.</p>
<p>Jekyll also offers powerful support for code snippets:</p>
<figure class="highlight"><pre><code class="language-ruby" data-lang="ruby"><span class="k">def</span> <span class="nf">print_hi</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="nb">name</span><span class="p">)</span>
<span class="nb">puts</span> <span class="s2">"Hi, </span><span class="si">#{</span><span class="nb">name</span><span class="si">}</span><span class="s2">"</span>
<span class="k">end</span>
<span class="n">print_hi</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s1">'Tom'</span><span class="p">)</span>
<span class="c1">#=&gt; prints 'Hi, Tom' to STDOUT.</span></code></pre></figure>
<p>The setting-up process was relatively straight-forward, with some minor setbacks. It demands some minor Github knowledge, but besides that, it was an easy task.</p>
<p>So, to summarize my goals with this blog, I want to:</p>
<ul>
<li>Improve my English.</li>
<li>Have a place to easily share my toughs and works.</li>
<li>Keep a journal.</li>
<li>Be a better programmer, overall.</li>
</ul>
<p>Until next time!</p>
<p>Cheers,
Dalton</p>Dalton Limadaltonvarussa@gmail.comWelcome! This is my first blog post!